Category Archives: The Beatles

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Today was a day just like any other – and I don’t want to forget it. Some days are pretty freaking great (even in, or especially in, their simplicity).

7:22: Wake up, turn on the shower, fall back asleep until the water heats up (it takes a while)7:45: Shower8:15: Check the weather, get ready8:45: Skip out the door: purse, tube pass, keys, vaseline lip balm, hair tie, iPhone, headphones.8:48: Walk through the door of my favorite local coffee shop. The 4’10” man behind the counter knows me by name and begins making my regular order. I am not lying when I say it is hands-down the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had. I will most certainly miss it. No one has ever worn a smile larger than Jum’s – he is the smiliest Cambodian you’ll ever meet and he makes me smile, too, as we make small talk waiting on the coffee. I ask about his wife who sometimes works with him in the shop; he asks about Grant and school. I grab my order (which I get half price because I’m a local) and head out the door cherishing that first sip of the world’s greatest coffee.8:50: Start an Andy Stanley podcast – awesome start to the day.8:55: Scan my student pass Oyster Card through the gate at the Underground and wait on a train

9:00: Catch a southbound train and hop on the tube – I get a seat if I’m lucky… That’s a very big if.

{Before the Jubilee empties}

{After the jubliee empties}

9:22: Emerge two stops later, cross the street toward the church building that is now a night club; walk the block to my building9:30: Begin my work placement, which I absolutely love. Seriously. Very few people love what they do as much as I love working in a publishing house.5:30: Bounce out the door of Hodder and Stoughton, iPhone bumping again5:59: Get off the tube, stop by local grocery store to pick up a few things (either Waitrose or Sainsbury’s). Call ahead and order a calzone from our favorite little Italian place, Oregano’s.6:17: Stop in as they pull my calzone out of the brick oven on a wooden plank. They also know me and Grant by name.

6:29: Fish for my keys – the pink Master’s key chain that Rick and Janice gave me before we left “so you’ll have a little piece of home over there;” I use it every single day and cherish that feeling of home. Time my entrance with the motion-activated-and-timed light on the stoop. Push the door open so that it automatically hits the overhead-light switch just inside the outer door. Yell hello to our neighbor, Genti. Let myself into our flat, throw everything down and de-layer at the door – hat, scarf, coat, purse, bags, shoes. Deep breath. I’m home.

These are the little conveniences – knowing just how long it’ll talk in between things, weaving my day together perfectly because I now feel like a local, taking advantage of getting discounts and being a regular {insert: “Where everybody knows your name” here}. Seriously, though, it makes a difference. And on simple, uncomplicated days when this little routine works like a charm, life seems almost easy. And I don’t want to forget what days like these are really like.

A Day in the Life by The Beatles

Paul McCartney once said that this was the song he was most proud of, the quintessential Beatles song.

My sweet friend, Cara(former neighbor in Atlanta), tagged me in a little blogger game. And because I’m “it” you get to find out 11 fun facts about me 🙂

The Rules:1. You must post these rules.2. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.4. You have to choose 11 people to tag and link them on the post.5. Go to their page and tell them you have linked him or her.

The Questions:1. If you could have someone do one chore for you for the rest of your life, what chore would it be?Washing clothes, dishes, or windows. Hate each and every one of those.

2. Which song do you always sing at-the-top-of-your-lungs-super-loud-yelling style in your car?Any power ballad or Beatles song. Most likely, something I’ve recently heard on Glee.

Sing seems to do the job.

But other past contenders have been Unwritten

Don’t Stop Believing

and, of course, Defying Gravity.

3. Publix or Kroger?Publix all the way.

4. What instrument do you wish you could play?Guitar. I can only barely play piano after years of lessons 100 years ago.

5. What did you eat for breakfast?…nothing… I should probably get on that.

I’m a local at a little coffee shop around the corner. The guy that owns it with his wife is from Cambodia and he’s always smiling. He begins to make my usual caramel latte and hot buttered croissant when he sees me walk through the door and he gives me half off because I come in most days. It is so nice the simple joy of being a local and having your usual favorite every-day order ready (and 50% off!).

6. If you had to buy your clothes from one store for the rest of your life, what store would you choose?Banana Republic (I’m such a prep.)

7. What is one quirky thing you do that others may find strange?I bite my nails. Grant hates it!

9. What is your favorite season of the year?Autumn. All the colors, the turning leaves, and the fashion: layers, sweaters, boots, scarves… need I go on?!

10. When was the last time you felt homesick?All the time–are you kidding? London is a fun place to visit, but it’s a difficult place to live. I miss the slow Southern drawl, smiles, charm, and kindness, the sense of community and unapologetic evangelism of the South. I miss the warmth of the weather and even more so the people. Lord, take me home!

11. If you could be best-friends with a celebrity, who would he/she be?Jennifer Aniston. We’re practically besties already.

And here are your 11 Questions:1. What’s your favorite Christmas/ Birthday gift or story (good or bad)?2. What’s your favorite memory from college?3. What’s your favorite place you’ve been?4. What’s the next place you’d like to visit?5. Lake, beach, mountains, or dessert?6. What’s your favorite cuisine/ meal?7. Would you rather be on Survivor, American Idol, or Jersey Shore (they’re about all the same to me)?8. Would you rather head up a flash mob dance party or sing along?9. What’s your favorite childhood movie? (You know I love me some Disney!)10. What’s the best thing you’ve learned from your mother?11. What’s your favorite pic (please post and add a caption)?

Well this week certainly got away from me. It’s already time for another 5 Minute Friday Linkup with The Gypsy Mama! You know the drill.

For only five short, bold, beautiful minutes. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.2. Link back here and invite others to join in.3. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

TIRED

I’m so tired. A really great Beatles song starts with this line…. Let’s not got there. I really am tired. Yesterday was my last day of class for the semester. It feels like I’ve poured out all my brain on papers and group work and I have very little left with which to think and write and converse.

I wonder when there will be a day when I’m not tired. We stay up late, enjoy each other and the city of London, we sleep in (sometimes, depending on classes), we rinse and repeat. When are the days of 12 hour nights plus naps? Was that only for a brief moment, sophomore year in college? I long for days when I don’t feel tired. Or braindead. Or frustrated. Or short-tempered.

I need some perspective. Someone once told my Mama right before she had me that hopefully she had cherished a good night’s sleep because she wouldn’t have another one for 18 years…! If these are the good days of restful nights free of care and worry and limited responsibility, I need to feel less tired!

I guess the tiredness affects my attitude and sleep deprivation doesn’t help, so I will try to, a) get more sleep and, b) adjust my perspective. It’s Christmastime and in the words of Kevin McAllister’s mother, “The season of perpetual hope.” Amen.

From The Gypsy Mama BlogFor only five short, bold, beautiful minutes.Unscripted and unedited. Wejust writewithout worrying if it’s just right or not.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.2. Link back here and invite others to join in.3. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

Grateful

I am grateful for many tangible things on this earth. I have the best husband in the world, the sweetest most supportive family, and the kindest and steadfast friends a girl could hope for. Hugging their necks, holding their hands, sharing life over dinner, or grabbing a coffee together—these are the real ways I can love on these tangible people.

But I am grateful for intangibles, too. I am grateful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Godhead three-in-one, and the fellowship of believers.

I am also eternally grateful for music.

Where would I be without it? Very few things can change my mood as quickly and effectively as a song. Very few things can express the thoughts or yearnings of my heart the way a song can. Words can be so limiting—but words and melody can come together to compensate for the burden I sometimes feel stirring in my soul.

Music is my muse. Music is my inspiration. Music makes ordinary things seem extraordinary—riding to school on the tube, doing the dishes, dinner with my sweetheart. Music can represent the best and worst of things simultaneously and still be beautiful.

Music appeals to the dancer in me—the dancer that will exist long after the days of dancing, when I am stooped and arthritic.

Music brings color to my world when circumstance threatens to bleed it dry, leaving only shades of gray.

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Music is incredible—its depth and its intricacies—and for it, I am grateful.